Let’s face it.  A trebuchet can launch pretty much anything like it weighs nothing.  Whether it’s a castle, a stone wall, or an army of pikemen and archers, a trebuchet can wreak havoc on anything.

Obviously trebuchets are cool, but it is not only their coolness that makes them effective in battle.  It is also the complex physics that they can manipulate that gives them their incredible power.  The science behind all of this is complex, but understanding it is vital to defending yourself from a possible trebuchet attack.  I will try and sum it up for you to make it as easy to understand as possible:

A trebuchet is basically a long stick.  It is connected to other sticks and has a rope basket on one end and a weight on the other end.  First, you put something in the rope basket (for example, a tree).  After the tree is secure, there is a rope that prevents the tree from launching and wreaking havoc.  In order to launch the tree and wreak havoc, all that must happen is that the rope needs to be cut.  Once cut, it will fire off whatever it has wherever you are aiming and destroy it.

Scientifically speaking, this is all there is to it.  In a future post, I will discuss how to properly defend yourself from a trebuchet attack.